Whitewater Rafting on the Ocoee River

Whitewater Rafting on the Ocoee River

~ Carmen

The Ocoee River is the most commercially rafted river in the United States. The Ocoee River was also home to the 1996 canoe and kayak Olympic events. Located 100 miles west of Atlanta, the upper and middle sections of the river contain some the best back-to-back rapids you’ll find anywhere.

Even though it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere, there are plenty of lodging choices. We love staying at Whitewater Express (read about the cabinshere). People come from near and far, not only for the fantastic whitewater rafting, but also for the hiking and mountain bike riding (read Why You Should Ride the Tanasi Mountain Trails).

The river’s flow is controlled by three dams as part of the Tennessee River Authority. It remains dry until water is released from Ocoee Dam #3. The Ocoee Whitewater Center along with several staging and parking areas were built and is staffed by the US Forest Service. The river runs rafting trips on the weekends starting in the spring through mid-fall. The most popular section is the middle Ocoee which is a 4.5 mile stretch of 20 back to back category III-IV rapids.

See for yourself by watching our YouTube video!

Our Sunday School Class has a weekend retreat on the Ocoee every fall.

Although most people raft as a group with commercial companies, the river is also open to individual kayakers, rafters or canoers. Going down the river on your own is not recommended unless you are experienced. There have been deaths on the river, the majority to heart attacks and drowning.

What to Expect on a Commercial River Raft Ride

To raft on the Ocoee River, you must be at least 12 years old. It is recommended that you are in good health. You don’t need to have any previous experience. Total ride time from check-in to departure (if just riding the Middle Ocoee) is 3 1/2 – 4 hours with 1 1/2 – 2 hours water time.

When you arrive at your rafting company they will provide all the equipment that you will need, paddles, helmets, life preservers, and even jackets and paddle pants if you so desire (the water is COLD). Our rafting company even had some helmets with Go-Pro mounts. You should wear old sneakers or river shoes. Don’t bring anything that could fly off (sunglasses should have straps) or can’t get wet.

You will be given safety instructions then driven down as a group to the staging area.

Ready for the safety instructions.

Once you’re at the staging area, you’ll meet your river guide. These guys and girls are a fun, tough bunch. If you listen to their safety and rafting instructions, you’ll have an exhilarating, safe trip (see beginning of video below). Our guide told us that the only time she has a bad ride is when rafters have been drinking and/or clown around too much to follow her instructions.

At the staging area, ready to start our ride.

It is imperative to listen to your river guide. Your safety is in their hands, but they can’t do it on their own. Plus, the river guide can make your ride more exhilarating if they know they can count on the riders to follow their instructions swiftly and with 100% effort.

View from the front of our raft. A bit scary, but so, so exciting!

One of the biggest causes of injuries comes from being hit by end of a paddle. When coming upon the dangerous rapid, the guide will yell, “Down!” At that moment, you should quickly squat down in the bottom of the raft and stick the paddle end up while your guide does their thing (see minute 6 of the video at the bottom).

We’re “down” with our paddles “up”. Our girl guide maneuvered us down and then around to “surf”.

Surfing a Rapid

One of the most fun parts of the ride is to surf a rapid (see 1 minute into the video below). The guide will get the raft down the rapid, then pull the nose of the raft 180 degree to face directly into the rapid. A good guide can keep the raft facing right into the rapid until another raft bumps the raft back down the river. Imagine the front of the raft dipping down while the rapid is pouring down onto the rafters. It is scary (don’t want to drown), but a super rush!

You can’t see us because our guide is surfing our raft with nose down into the rapid.

Gearing up for another class IV rapid.

Riding the Bull

If surfing the rapids isn’t enough excitement for you, then you can do what’s called “riding the bull” (see minute 4:30 of the video below). You pretty much sit on the the front of the raft and hold on for dear life. I was content to let the others experience it. The rapids provided me with plenty of excitement on their own!

Riding the bull

Have you ever tried whitewater rafting or ever wanted to try? Please share by commenting below!

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~ Carmen

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Nice!!! I actually went on my first whitewater rafting experience in the USA (near Boise) and ended up in the water, I just couldn’t hold myself but it was so much fun. Then we both tried in Nepal, and I didn’t fall!!!! I find it is a hell of a rush!

Cool this is really impressive! Amazing how you managed to make pics and even a video on such a tour.
I never tried out such a tour so far, but it looks like the perfect combination of having fun and thrilling adventure 🙂
Not sure, if I would already ride the bull in the first attempt, but this looks like a really great challenge for the more experienced ones 🙂
Thank you for sharing your experiences, cheers from Birdie & Hendrik

P.S. sometimes it might be a bit difficult for non US citizens to understand that you mean automatically the US when you talk about “the country”, even though its clear from the main pic of course… just saying 😉

White water rafting is one of our favourite activities. We’ve done it in some exotic locations around the world, but some of the best was in the USA in West Virgina of all places. Great photos that really showcase the action.

I went white water rafting for the first time this year in BC, Canada and it was such a rush. I’m definitely not a water person and I was so anxious to do it, but it ended up being a wonderful experience when all was said and done. I love your video!

I went to the Ocoee a long time ago, but I do remember it being an experience!I have always love the outdoors and Tennessee! You have such a great post about it and I love the action shots! They are so good! I actually never knew that most deaths come from the paddles! This is crazy! Great post and I loved the video too!

On our next post, I’m going to give details of where we stayed and the other activities involved. For the two of us, it cost $199 for a 2-night stay in a cabin, whitewater rafting, and a horseback ride. I think it’s a bargain! Spring and fall the water is pretty cold, but not too bad. I haven’t been in the summer, but I know that’s the busiest season.

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[…] on a weekend whitewater rafting trip on the Ocoee River, (read Whitewater Rafting on the Ocoee River), I had the pleasure of taking a side trip to explore the Tanasi Trail system. It was our last […]

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